The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Master Zheng was also quite generous to Aunt Zhao, giving her extra money of several dozen taels of silver every month.

Jia Huan was well aware of all this. The reason why Aunt Zhao acted this way was probably because she wanted to get closer to her son Jia Huan and hoped that he would visit the mansion more often.

He naturally wouldn't make excuses to refuse, and nodded in agreement to everything.

In fact, he visited Aunt Zhao's residence quite often, more than a dozen times a month.

Having left with Jia Cong just last month, it's only been a month since they last met, and Aunt Zhao misses him terribly.

After meeting, besides their usual rambling about gossip in the mansion, they recently started talking about Tan Chun's marriage.

Jia Huan is fourteen years old this year, and Tan Chun is only a little younger than Lin Daiyu, almost sixteen.

As a result, there was absolutely no rumor in the mansion about Tan Chun's marriage!

If placed in the same period of the original Dream of the Red Chamber, Aunt Zhao's mind would be entirely focused on Jia Huan, so naturally she wouldn't care about Tan Chun's marriage prospects.

But the situation is different now. Jia Huan's condition is what it is, so there's no need for Aunt Zhao to worry about him.

Although no formal wedding banquet was held with Daiyu, the matter was already a done deal.

When Aunt Zhao found out, she was naturally overjoyed, and her whole demeanor suddenly improved.

Of course, she also understood that as a concubine, it would be difficult for her to control a daughter-in-law like Lin Daiyu who came from a high-ranking family.

However, she had full confidence in Jia Huan, believing that he could "keep his wife in check".

Now that Jia Huan's marriage has been settled, she will naturally turn her attention to Tan Chun, whom she has always disliked, since she is her own daughter.

Then, she noticed that Madam Wang hadn't made a move at all, and she couldn't help but get a little anxious.

After all, this era valued 'arranged marriages by parents and matchmakers,' and as the legal mother, Madam Wang naturally had the right to decide. If she remained unmoved, even Master Zheng couldn't say much.

Of course, if Tan Chun is eighteen and still has no intention of getting married, then Master Zheng will have a legitimate excuse to intervene.

"Your sister's marriage can't be delayed; you have to think of a way to resolve this!"

Since Aunt Zhao had made a rare request, Jia Huan naturally couldn't ignore it.

It's not something that can be easily resolved in a short time.

He was certain that, unlike in the original novel of Dream of the Red Chamber, Tan Chun would never be sent away for a political marriage.

What a joke!

Although the Rong family's influence at this time was not as great as it had been at its peak, it still possessed about 30-40% of that.

Under such circumstances, it is unlikely that Tan Chun would be used as a bargaining chip to become a fake princess in a political marriage.

If the Rong family really wanted to do that, Jia Huan would be the first to object!

Furthermore, even the Second Master Zheng couldn't save face; how could he maintain his standing in the court afterward?

Under these circumstances, Tan Chun's marriage is indeed a bit troublesome and absolutely cannot be delayed for too long.

At this point, the drawbacks of the old lady and Mrs. Wang staying at home all the time became apparent.

Even though Tan Chun is outstanding in every way, the ladies outside don't know that!

The ladies who frequently visited the family knew the situation, but for some reason, none of them took the initiative to propose marriage, which was quite strange.

Jia Huan had some guesses, but he wasn't sure if they were accurate.

In the original novel of Dream of the Red Chamber, the Dowager Princess of Nan'an initially wanted to arrange a marriage for her son, the Prince of Nan'an. It was rumored that the Prince of Nan'an had taken a liking to Tan Chun for some reason and had been thinking about her ever since.

Unfortunately, this ambitious but incompetent man was defeated and captured in the southern border region. In the end, he had no choice but to sacrifice Tan Chun. It can only be said that interests are the fundamental thing, and all talk of love and affection is nonsense.

It's unclear what the Prince of Nan'an is thinking right now.

This princess is a sickly woman; it's hard to say when she'll pass away.

Otherwise, matters like arranging a concubine for a prince wouldn't have required the elderly Dowager Consort to intervene.

Putting aside other matters, Jia Huan was actually quite knowledgeable about the internal affairs of the Rong Mansion.

Therefore, he was naturally very clear about Wang Xifeng's condition.

This time, Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng suddenly invited him over for drinks, which should be because they had made the final decision regarding Jia Lian's transfer to another post.

Otherwise, so many things wouldn't have happened in the Rong family in such a short period of time.

The implications of the division of public and private finances are quite clear.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of the Rong family's internal affairs would realize that this division of public finances essentially meant that the eldest and second sons had effectively separated their households.

Otherwise, the old lady wouldn't have been secretly cursing and angry, refusing to let Madam Wang and Wang Xifeng into Rongqing Hall for several days in a row. She could only express her dissatisfaction in this way.

Unfortunately, what's done is done. Both Master She and Master Zheng acquiesced, and even if the old lady was unwilling, there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Hehe, Huan-ge, you don't know yet!"

After Jia Huan sat down in the flower hall of the East Courtyard, Wang Xifeng said directly, "My dear aunt wants to take back all the management rights of the estates outside the city!"

"This is impossible!"

Jia Huan chuckled, but his tone was quite firm: "We've already agreed that you'll give me at least ten years of management rights, and that can't be easily changed during that time!"

"If you want to change the management rights, that's fine, but you have to compensate me for my losses!"

"You think beautiful!"

Wang Xifeng said irritably, "My dear aunt wants to take it back by force, do you still dare to ask for money?"

"Ha ha……"

Jia Huan chuckled again, his tone relaxed and leisurely: "If the manor doesn't lose money, I'd like to see which steward has the guts to go outside the city and take over the estate?"

Seeing Wang Xifeng's confusion, he coldly said, "It's not peaceful outside the city; it's quite normal for accidents to happen!"

Wang Xifeng's eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief, and she stammered, "You, you, you can't be this cruel! That's my dear aunt's confidante!"

"Who cares about being a confidant or not? If you don't pay up, this is the end result!"

Jia Huan sneered, "Do you really think that the 80,000 taels of silver I hand over to the manor every year is all for nothing?"

"If the wife is really unreasonable, the matter can be easily resolved!"

He chuckled lightly, "I'll first give up one or two estates and let my wife's trusted subordinates manage them!"

"My requirements are simple: those one or two farms must be modeled the same as mine!"

"The annual tax revenue must be ten thousand taels of silver, and the supply of rice, flour, vegetables, and other necessities must also be guaranteed!"

"If I can do that, I will hand over the rest of the estates in installments over several years without hesitation!"

"If the steward arranged by Madam can't do it, then don't blame me for being ruthless!"

“Those estates belong to the Rong family and the Jia family, not to be exploited by the Wang family!”

As he said this, Jia Huan looked directly at Wang Xifeng, his face completely composed, and that was exactly what he was thinking.

Chapter 291 Ambition (Please Subscribe)

Wang Xifeng was stunned!

She never expected Jia Huan to be so ruthless!

But the next moment, she revealed a smile and sneered, "I'd like to see what my dear aunt's expression will be when she finds out what you're thinking, Huan-ge'er?"

"No matter what expression you make!"

Jia Huan scoffed, "I can make Madam earn tens of thousands of taels of silver every year. I don't believe the steward she sent out can do that!"

"I don't believe it either!"

Wang Xifeng laughed and changed the subject, asking, "By the way, you know that your Second Brother Lian wants to be transferred to a post outside the capital?"

"Of course, I was the one who recommended it!"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "How does it feel to be promoted?"

"Not a bad fart!"

Wang Xifeng raised her eyebrows in displeasure and said, "Why give up a perfectly good official position in the capital and be sent to a remote area?"

At this point, he said disdainfully, "Is there a difference between a fifth-rank official in the capital and a fourth-rank local official?"

"There's not much difference, and you might even lose money!"

Jia Huan nodded and said, "But Second Sister-in-law, you also have to understand Lian's feelings!"

"What feelings do you have that I need to understand?"

Wang Xifeng rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Don't change the subject, I want an explanation!"

"Given Cong'er's previous performance, he might become a third-rank military officer within the next two years!"

Jia Huan said directly, "At that time, Brother Lian will still be a fifth-rank official in the capital. Where will he put his face then?"

"This……"

Wang Xifeng was speechless for a moment; this was truly a problem.

Not to mention Jia Lian, even she found it hard to accept such a thing.

Jia Cong was merely an illegitimate son of the main branch, yet he managed to far surpass Jia Lian, who was born into the legitimate family, in the officialdom without needing any support from the mansion's resources. The entire Rong family lost face.